The Hounds and Horses. 49 



January, 182 1, that I had three days' roebuck-hunting 

 with a gentleman near Blandford, in the large woods 

 on his own estate, and round Milton Abbey, into 

 which the roebuck had been introduced many years 

 before. This gentleman had originally kept harriers, 

 and had not thought fit to alter his kind of hound 

 when he made this important change in the game that 

 they were to pursue. They were large powerful harriers, 

 without any apparent cross of the foxhound; but he 

 had received from Mr. Chute a brother and sister 

 named Valiant and Vanity. These were very good 

 and handsome, and in their prime, having been drafted 

 by Mr. Chute at the end of the first season only be- 

 cause they were rather too small to satisfy even him. 

 They were not higher than the average of the pack ; 

 and I was told that over the open they did not run 

 away from them. On that point, however, I can say 

 nothing ; for we never got half a mile away from the 

 woods in the course of the three days. But the manner 

 in which these two foxhounds beat the whole pack 

 of harriers in the woods was remarkable. From the 

 moment that the game was found, their light tongues 

 were heard at head. Whenever the scent crossed a 

 ride, they were over it, and out of sight, before the 

 rest had appeared. The longer the work continued, 

 the greater became the interval between them and the 

 others ; till at last it came to be Vanity and Valiant 

 pressing the roebuck, and the rest of the pack making 

 much noise and little progress on the line behind them. 

 I thought that this might have taught their owner 

 that he was breeding the wrong sort of animal for his 

 purpose. 



I was assured, indeed, that these hounds not unfre- 

 E 



